Poisoned by a toad

Hi. This is shushu's owner here.
Yesterday was a tiring day for me. I was working late and reach home after 8pm. Both shushu and kero was waiting for me at the door and I was very happy to see them.

After playing with them for a while, i sat down in the dinning area to have my dinner. As usual, both of them will be standing at the playpen barrier between the living room and the dinning area, giving me pitiful looks in hope of getting some tidbits from me. Usually they will stand there until I finish my dinner.

However, after a while, I notice both of them were missing at the barrier and heard a faint "plok plok" (jumping) sound. I thought both of them might be chewing something they shouldn't (making mischief again) so I went and have a look.

To my horror, I saw a small toad has managed to jump into my living room (i don't know how) and shushu and kero has it trapped near the staircase. They were pawing it and it was jumping around. Knowing that toad are poisonous, I quickly walk toward them but the moment shushu saw me, he grabbed the toad in his mouth and try to run off. He couldn't go far as just a few second after holding the toad in his mouth, he split it out and start shaking his head vigorously. I can see that he was very distressed and salivating a lot.

I quickly shouted to my sister to come down while holding shushu, as he make another attempt to grab the toad again. The small toad is not helping as well as it just sit there. I told my sister to remove the toad and after she bring it to the back of the house, I release shushu and put kero in his crate. Kero was running around trying to play with shushu and distracting everyone. I wet a small towel and try to wash shushu mouth with it.

He resist and started puking foamy liquid. I got scared and started calling his vet for help. He gave me some first aid measures for poison:

1) Firstly, bring the dog to the nearby pipe and wash his mouth thoroughly.
(I brought shushu to the bathroom and use the shower to wash his mouth.)

2) Dilute some salt in warm water. Wet a towel with it and wash his mouth with the salt solution.

3) Give him some antiacid (gastric pill) and some milk to dilute the poison swallowed.

I didn't any gastric pill or milk so after washing shushu mouth with the salt solution, i drive out to the nearest 7-11 to get some. After giving him the medicine and cleaning the mess (puke and saliva on the floor), it was almost 10pm. I released kero out and try to continue my dinner but not much appetite left.

I continue to check on shushu throughout the night to make sure he is ok. He look fine this morning (the usual running around with kero) before i go off for work so I am much relieved now.

Shushu always give me unexpected surprises ever since i have him as puppy - ticks fever, pneumonia, ear infection, etc. I have learn to cope quite well with emergencies now. I also learn a lot on puppy care from the incidents, but still - it is not very good for my heart everytime it happens. :(

I am feeling better....

Hello. This is shushu here.


Thanks everyone for your well wishes and concern. Today my owner brought me to the vet to take off the plaster on my ear and to check the condition of the wound. My owner has to hold me very tightly for the vet to take off the plaster because I got too excited seeing my vet, I keep jumping at him and refused to let him touch my ear.

Want to see the scar of my "battle" with the stray dog?
owner (scowling): what battle? more like the dog attack while you still happily jump at him.

here is the close-up of the ear after the plaster is taken off


here is the view of the inner ear. Notice the scar actually went in quite deep and the bleeding is still fresh.

p/s: those brown stuff are my dried blood. My owner wanted to clean it but it was paintful to me so she decided to leave it first until the wound has completely dried up.

It was painful I tell you. I am sorry for running out of the gate and for jumping at the dog. Really, I am sorry. See how sorry I look?


Owner (cycnical): Yeah, right......

Actually, shushu is really feeling much better. The vet examined his wound and confirmed that it is healing. There is a slight swelling but the vet said not a big deal. Shushu stitches can be removed on this saturday / sunday, which is a good news :). This is actually what the current shushu look like now...



Except for the patch of missing fur at the ear and the injury, he is still the same barky and happy go lucky shushu. Once again, thanks everyone for their concern.

p/s: We met with the abandoned GR today at the clinic. He is going home with his new owner today when we arrived at the clinic. He look really happy and healthly. I didn't manage to chat with the new owner or to say goodbye to the GR though, coz I was busy restraining shushu in case he decided to jump on other dogs at the clinic.

Shushu is bitten by stray!!!

Yesterday after his morning walk around 7.45am, I accidentally open the autogate and shushu ran out. Before we manage to catch up with him, he saw a nearby stray dog and ran up to play with him. The stray seeing a big dog approaching, got defensive and attack shushu. Shushu's left ear got bitten badly and torn. He was bleeding badly by the time we reach home. There was blood all over him and he keep shaking his ears and more blood splatter over the floor, window and wall.

We manage to stop the bleeding around 8.30am and call his vet. I brought him over to his vet at 10am. The vet start checking on his wound but the moment he touch his ear, shushu yelp very loudly. He keep using his mouth to move the vet hand away from his ears and refuse to let him touch. The vet has no choice but to give him anesthetic to calm him down and make him sleep so he can have a better look at the wound.

shushu after anesthetic. There was blood all over the place as the wound was bleeding and shushu keep shaking his ears


After shushu dozed off, the vet shaved off his left ear fur and we can see that part of shushu's ear has been torn. The vet also mentioned that one of shushu main blood vessel located at the ear was bitten open hence the nonstop bleeding. Poor thing, it must be very painful to him, yet he never uttered a sound after the dog bite him but can still wag his tail and smiled at us.

Close-up of the wound after the ear was shaved


The vet then proceed to clean shushu wound and then stitch it back up. He also gave shushu another injection to help the blood clotting as the wound keep bleeding even after it has been stitched up. I stayed at the clinic and waited for shushu to wake up. He woke up around 12.00 noon. He look very tired and moody but still followed me into the car. When we reach home, he couldn't come down from the car so I let him sleep a while inside the car with both door opened. Shushu finally got down from the car at 1pm. The vet said not to get him excited to ensure that the wound will not open and start bleeding. It is also the best to confine him so he can rest and recuperate. I let him sleep at a quiet corner of the house and barriered the area with playpen. I also cage Kero away so he wouldn't disturb his big brother since Kero likes to stay close to shushu and play bite bite with shushu ears.

I went back to work in the afternoon as I only manage to apply half day leave. When I come back from work, shushu already wake up fully and be his smilling self again.

A smiley shushu in the evening after being patch up by the vet


Close up of the patched up ear


He only got his dinner and water at 8pm as per the vet instruction. The vet mention not to give any food / water to him earlier as he may not have proper control of his muscle yet due to the effect of the anesthetic. This may cause him to choke on the food/water or worse the food/water travel to his lungs and cause complications there. After his meal and a toilet break, I put him back to his confinement area again to let him rest. Kero is now set free and he stay close to shushu.

Kero staying close to his big brother eventhough they can't play


After 4 days, I will bring shushu to his vet to remove the plaster at his ear and for checkup on his wound. The stitches will only be taken out 14 days later.

This incident happen because of my carelessness. It wasn't the stray dog fault as it is just being protective of itself. It wasn't shushu's fault for running out of the house as the gate was opened. The whole thing only happen in less than 15 minutes but the damage is indeed great. Seeing shushu like this make me very sad and regretful of my carelessness.
-won, shushu's owner.

Abandoned GR

My owner bought me to our vet today, coz my swelling at my paw there doesn't get any better one week after the injury, and she is feeling a bit paraniod about it. The good news is the vet take a look at my paw, told my owner "small matter, the swelling is caused by some pus buildup, similar to a "pimple" (=_=") thingy". He then squeeze the pus out, clean the wound and pronounce me fit and the wound should clear in a few days time. Yay!

While we were there, I heard the vet asked my owner "would you consider getting another furkid? I have a very nice 2 years old neutered male GR for adoption here." Eeeh? Hey! I thought we already got a "kero" as my plaything mate, why would I need another one?

Anyway, irregardless of my barking protest at the reception counter there, miss owner went in and take a look at the GR. Per miss owner, he was a handsome fella, with big head and soulful eyes. He even squeeze his nose against the grille to get closer to my owner (how dare he!) and uses the "sad and soulful eyes technique" to tempt my owner when she leaves....Hmmmph!

The vet told miss owner that the poor GR have been abandoned by his owner when they heard that he needed surgery. Actually, the GR testicle got injured and swelled very badly and neutering was the only option to save his life. However, the owners just abandon the dog at the clinic when they heard the diagnosis. The vet was very kind to keep him and perform the surgery foc.The GR is on his recovery now! The vet said once the GR heal, he will be looking for a dog lover and a good responsible owner to take good care of him.

I know miss owner is very tempted to adopt the GR. I heard her asking miss sister the question. But owner already have an agreement with miss sister to keep max 2 dogs in the house, and that's kero and me. Miss sister reply that she will kick all of us out if owner dare to bring another dog in. Well, I appreciate miss sister help to prevent the GR from stepping into the house, but does she has to include kicking kero and me out as well? Just kick the owner out will be fine! Hmmph!

-shushu

Owner: I am helping the vet to look for a potential good owner for the abandoned GR. I will try to snap a picture of the GR and post it soon!

Update 21/1/08
Our GR friend has found a new owner!! Our owner went to visit him yesterday and the vet informed her that someone has agreed to adopt him already. :) He will go home with his new owner end of this week after the vet take out his stitches! We wish him all the best and hope he be happy in his new home.

A little update!

Hi! This is Kero here.


Last Friday my owner brought me to the vet for my last injection and check up.
I got the checkup as I play too rough with my big brother shushu and have a little bald spot on my forehead now. The bald spot seems to stay bald and not healing so my owner got a little bit worried. Luckily, the vet assured my owner that is not serious and it will grow back.

See my bald spot


Just when I thought I can finally join my big brother shushu on his daily walk, my owner told me that I have to get used to the leash first before she will bring me out. Furthermore, she don't think she can handle 2 dogs together outside and we may have our walk separately. So at this moment, big brother shushu still enjoy his daily morning walk with my owner without me. :(

It is not fair! (kero sulking)


Sad look


p/s: I am taking over the blog today as my big brother, shushu injured his right side hind leg while playing in the porch yesterday. There was a little bit of bleeding and some swelling at the part between the toes, so my owner commanded him to take a rest first. Oh oh, maybe it is his turn to go and visit the vet then.....hmmmm

A little update on Momo

Here is a recent video of momo:

Her head is still slanted (senget) but otherwise she is still active. The vet said her slanted head might be permenant since she didn't recover in 7 days (the nerve dies in 7 days). However, we still haven't give up hope yet. Currently, we have remove her wheels temporarily to see whether it will help in her recovery or not. I am letting her run in my room daily to replace the wheel exercise. Besides that. we also got her some organic powder to boost her health up. Hopefully it helps!



As seen in the video, momo is a bit camera shy. As soon as i take out my camera, she will hide in her house......she does peek out from her house time to time and only comes out when i take away the camera.

momo is sick!

On thursday night my master discover something funny with momo, her head is tilted to the right side. My master was a little alarm but she thought maybe momo sprained her neck while sleeping and it will be alright soon.

Friday the whole day master and miss sister went to fetch the my little brother so no time to check on momo. However by Saturday, momo's head is still tilting and my master was very alarm now. She asked around and was informed that momo probably got some ear infection and may need vet consultation. She called my vet but he said he doesn't treat hamster. My master was disappointed and asked whether he knows any vet that does so in Ipoh. Unfortunately, he had no idea. She called another vet and that vet also said they don't treat hamster as well. My master was very sad. Because momo's head tilted, she was walking funny and sometimes lost her balance. Master miss momo standing on the home/salon antic, momo can't does it currently as she tends to lose her balance when standing.

momo walks funny now

hope momo gets well soon!!!

Update:13/11/2007

Brought momo to shushu's vet yesterday. The vet did a body check on momo and noted momo has injured a nerve at her neck. He said it is quite serious and he is not sure whether momo will get better but gave some medication to help her condition. Poor momo!

new carpet for shushu

After the previous incident with the carpet, we decided not to get another carpet again. However, recently shushu elbow turn worse - the fur around it all fell off and the skin is red and sometimes bruises appear. Without the carpet to support his elbow, shushu will hurt his elbow if he do siew chu pose on the floor - and he loves doing the siew chu pose.

After much consideration, we decided to give the carpet another try. So last weekend, sis and I went to JJ and bought a cheap silk carpet for shushu.

See how happy is shushu:


testing on the carpet with his bone:


ahhh, so comfortable - can even lay flat on my face while biting my kong:


He looks happy and pleased with the carpet, but we are all wondering how long this carpet will last???

Up to mischieve again...............

Last Sunday, Shushu did a very horrible thing.

Big sis woke up in the morning and discover shushu has pulled, chewed and swallowed a big chunk of the living room carpet!!

The orginal look of the carpet (one day before the incident)


The damage.


Oh, my gosh.... we found a pile of vomit at his mattress, which contain some remains of the carpet. After scolding him, we locked him inside his crate for about 1/2 hour as part of the punishment.

Big sis was very angry because she just bought the carpet less than 2 months ago and shushu never bite the carpet before. We even chose something that is very short and durable so he cannot pull the thread out. The carpet was bought for him as we noted he has sores at the elbow of the front paws due to too much contact with the hard floor. Besides this, we want to reduce the probability of him slipping on the tiles floor by covering it with carpet. Well, I guess no more carpet for him after this fiasco.

By afternoon after his lunch, I noticed shushu drank a lot of water. After he finished his bowl of water, he even went to the porch where there is a big pail of water and drank those up too. Immediately after that, he tried to poo, but the poo come out very little and watery. He poo all over the porch. While I was cleaning the porch, he vomited all over the living room and on his favourite cushion.........

It was a horrible mess! There is big chunks of thick threads (shape like maggi mee) all over the place together with his lunch content. I spent 2 hours cleaning up the mess. I put him back in the crate but did not have the heart to scold him. He looked quite unwell and miserable - all the anger in the morning evaporated. I called his vet and he just ask me not to let him drank any more water for a while.

Much later in the evening after he look kind of stable, I give him some mashed hard boiled egg as he was very hungry. After a while, he went and look for water again....... Sis just filled up the pail at the porch for her garden and shushu drank almost all of them. He started to poo again....but the poo was stuck as there was a thick thread of carpet in it. He panicked and dragged all over the porch. The whole porch, most of the shoes and his butt and hind legs has poo all over them. (sorry for the gory details) Luckily we managed to close the living room door in time or else.........

I have to calm him down and pull the thread out carefully(really long one) with the poo. Before I managed to do anything else, he vomited clear water and pieces of egg at the porch. Really shocking and messy again......

I clean him up with baby wipes (since he can't be bathe yet) first, crate him again and then clean up the porch and wash the shoes. Sunday was really a very tiring and double cleaning day for me....By the time I am done, it was night time already.

Shushu spend the remaining day fasting and confined. Big sis also feel sorry for him. He keep swallowing and sometimes try to cough. Fearing that there is still blockage in him, I took him to the vet on Monday for checkup. The vet said his throat is slightly injured when he swallowed the carpet threads and give him some medication to relieve the discomfort. The vet also said to give him soft food for about 3 days and let him drink a spoonful of honey or "pei pah kou" to lubricate his throat.

The good news of this is that shushu is really on his way to recovery from his pneumonia as he is begining to turn back into a devil.

devil shu

Recovering - hopefully

Shushu finished his series of injections on Saturday evening.
The vet said to continue giving shushu antibiotics pills and monitor his progress closely.

On Monday evening, as some of the antibiotics had finished, I took shushu back for another checkup. I was hoping for a good news. However, the vet did some checks on shushu and noticed he is still dripping greenish mucus at his nose. This indicate that the infection is still there. Hence, shushu got another 5 days of medication with one added antibiotic. His next appointment with the vet is this coming Saturday.

The vet said that pneumonia is a serious disease and the recovery will take quite some time.

Healthwise, shushu is looking more alert than the past week. However, he still get tired easily (after 10 minutes) and will lay down and rest. He has constant runny nose and drips mucus all over the floor so i wipe the floor constantly. He still breathe noisily, especially while sleeping.

He still cannot / wouldn't eat his kibbles, treats or any can food at the moment. To help him regain his energy, I cook chicken meat and mince vegetables for him everyday. He can only eat them at small portions so I feed him 4 times daily now. I also give him some goat milk to boost up his immune system.

Here are some pictures of shushu during this period of time:

Last tuesday evening when first reach home after hospitalisation:
I miss my pillow & toys ......



both of his front paw fur got shave due to IV


Shushu gets tired easily and sleep most of the time


Shushu has runny nose so he has a hanky or towel with him most of the time


Saturday night "sticking" to brother - shushu is very "manja" (my brother came back from KL to visit shushu after hearing he was sick)


see how thin shushu is now after being sick


Please get well soon shushu....

Update on 3/8/07:

Just after I post for shushu hopeful recovery, Shushu had another relapse again on Thurday morning (2/8). He has high fever, 40.9'C and doesn't eat anything anymore.

His vet office was closed on every thursday but fortunately, i managed to contact his vet and he agreed to open the clinic in the evening to have a look at him. He did some test on shushu mucus and feaces to check for any clue but unfortunately, nothing can be found.
Shushu is now on another antibiotics and is scheduled for an x-ray and a culture test today. If they cannot get anything, most probably a blood test will be scheduled later.

I have decided not to post anymore on this blog at the moment. This blog will be put on hiatus temporary until shushu recovers, which I hope again is very much sooner.

A worried shushu's owner,
won

Pneumonia - 2nd update

On Monday, shushu was admitted into the clinic and placed under IV fluids.
On Tuesday evening, after 3 bottles of IV, the fever went down and shushu was discharged. The drop in the fever indicated that the antibiotic is working, which is a good sign.

However, shushu has a relapse as the fever returned with a vengence by Wednesday evening. He was rushed to the clinic again and was given an injection immediately to reduce the fever. The vet said the bacteria inflection was very strong as it has already developed an immunity to the current antibiotic prescribed. Shushu was given another antibiotic prescription. We also need to send him twice daily to the clinic for injections besides all the medication.

If the fever still persist, the vet will have to take the culture test and send it to a lab for analysis.

Currently, Shushu is still resting at home. His fever has lowered but not gone. He still has lots of mucus in the nose and breathes nosily. The good news is he has started eating again but with low appetite.

I still do not know how is shushu faring now? Will the fever return? I have brought a termometer and monitor his condition very closely. I will also bring him to the vet again later during lunch and evening for his injection. I hope I can get some good news from the vet.

Pneumonia - update

Shushu vomited again on sunday midnight and refused to eat anything today. I bought all sort of can foods to tempt him but he just refused all of them.

By lunch time, he still refused to eat anything and I have no choice but to admit him to the clinic to be placed under IV drips (under the vet advice). I brought shushu to the clinic and he was very quiet there, which is so unlike him at all. The vet was quite busy due to lunch time and shushu just lay quietly at my feet while waiting for his turn. When his turn come, I leave him under the vet care and return to work.

I visited him again after work to check on his condition. The good news is that his fever is reducing, which the vet says it is a good sign that the antibiotic is working. However, the vet said that he is still dripping a lot of saliva, which is not so favourable. So far, no more vomitting at the moment.

I find Shushu looking a bit more alive, which he was not for the past 2 days. Previously, he was mostly is a daze due to his high fever and lack of food intake, and would constantly just paused and stared into space. Today, though he is still very tired, I can see that his eyes is much more clearer and he smiled at us. When we arrive at the clinic, he did not make any noise when he saw us, but just wagged his tail furiously. I patted him and told him to be strong and to get well soon, and that I will be seeing him again tomorrow. We just stayed there for 10 minutes talking to him. However, when we leave, we could hear him barking for us, asking for us to stay with him.

Sigh! I miss him terribly. I pray that he will be well and will stay with us for a long time.

Down with pneumonia

I am very sad to say that shushu is very sick again, this time down with pneumonia.

I took him to the vet on saturday morning when I noticed that his appetite is diminishing and his breathing is real loud. I was really shocked when the vet told me his right lung has infection and it look serious. Shushu vomitted when we come back, vomitted another time in the evening and again at night, each time after he took his medicine. He refused any intake of food after he vomitted so many times.

By Sunday morning - shushu's condition worsened. He is very weak as he has no intake of food nor medicine. I decided to take him to another vet for a 2nd diagnosis. There, the vet said that both lungs are infected. As his fever is still there, Shushu was given 3 injections immediately. The vet also said no bathing and playing/exercise with shushu as it will worsen the condition. The vet also advised us to get a termometer at home to check shushu's temperature constantly to gauge whether the fever is diminishing. If the temperature drop, the medicine is effective. However, if after 3 days and the conditions still persist, the vet will have to take a culture test to decide the next course of action.

At this moment, shushu is sleeping in the living room. I am very tired now as I have been taking care of shushu over the weekend, cleaning the vomit and making sure he is comfortable. I just hope I am not losing shushu this round.

Just a day difference, shushu on friday night:


saturday morning shushu


a very sad owner,
won.

Healthy shushu at 8 months

Last Friday I brought shushu to the vet there again for a checkup and also because he developed some rashes at the stomach and hind legs area.

Shushu is very happy to be at the vet there. I dunno why, but before I stop the car he already got quite excited and wanted to get down from the car. Even the vet asked me whether shushu is this happy when he reach her clinic, coz she said it was so suprising to see a dog this happy at the vet! I think he miss the vet and her 2 very nice assistants very much and is very happy to see them again. He look very at home there (trying to run here and there) and even bark at the rest of the doggies who are waiting for treatment =_=.

Vet said he look so much healthier than the last visit (yay!). Shushu even put on quite a lot of weight, from about 20kg(sick) to 25kg. Vet said that is quite enough as she didn't want shushu to gain too much weight and stress his hips. Well, I guess I will put shushu back on normal ration of his dog food and no more snacks for him. The vet gave shushu some edible cream to apply at his rashes. Vet said he probably got some bateria infection due to allergy to weeds that brushed at his stomach area(when out at the field) or from laying on the floor too much (siew chu - roast pig position). The stomach area was quite bare (without much fur) as they were trimmed off for the ultrasound last time. I guess I got to clean the floor more frequently (mop 2 days once) and with more gentle cleaning solution from now on. His hips are ok too.

Before we leave the vet clinic, shushu got a chewing treat from one of the assistant and the other assistant took him out for a short walk at the field opposite the clinic. I guess now you know why shushu loves the assistant so much!!

Almost lost

This happened last month and for some reason or others, I always postpone blogging it. Probably I like to record happy and joyous moment rather than something sombering. However, I think it is important and I do want to keep a record of it, so I am going to do a simple date type of entry.

20th April 2007 (Friday)
- morning: discovered shushu's vomit all over the floor (about 4 spots). Vomited once again - sighted by me before i went to work. Shushu didn't have any appetite to eat (did not touch his food at all). Clean up the mess, put shushu inside his cage for him to rest and place a kibble inside (to check whether his appetite returning later).
- call home during lunch time and ask about shushu's condition. Seems no more vomit and his appetite returning (he ate the piece of kibble).
- evening: reached home, feed shushu his kibble. He did not vomit anymore, looks active and played with him.
- night (about 11.30pm) let him out at the car porch for pee and poo before settling down for the night. Shushu come back after 5 minutes, brother noted shushu started dripping yellow liquid on the floor from the nose. Yellow become red, and it started flowing at an alarming rate. The blood just won't stop and the floor was covered in blood as well as the crate. Shushu become hyper. Panicked!!! Call his regular vet HP but no answer. In desperation, called my good friend and asked her whether she has any vet numbers. Got one and give her a call. The vet picked up the call(was almost in tears). Was advised to pack ice water on a cloth and wrap around his nose and to give the vet a call if the bleeding did not stop after 20 minutes. It didn't stop. Call back the vet and was told to get shushu to her clinic ASAP. She was kind enough to open it again for shushu. Shushu received 2 injection to stop the bleeding, some pills for the bleeding and a sleeping pill to calm him down. Vet said probably he accidentally injured his nose (banged on it) hence the bleeding. No suspicion on others as the bleeding is only on one side of the nose. However, found out shushu is a "bleeder", means he has Vit K deficiency hence has difficulty forming blood clot to stop his own bleeding. Vet advised for shushu to be put under observation for the night but shushu refused to comply. So fetch him back home. Stayed with him in the living room for the night but shushu couldn't sleep. Whining whole night because of the pain.

21st April 2007 (Saturday)
- Morning: shushu slept a little, begin to look a bit tired and lifeless. feed him some kibbles.
- Evening: shushu started vomiting again (3 times). Refused to eat. Can still drink water. Took him to see the vet again. got some pills for the vomiting and since he is still very active (played with the vet) we took him home.

22nd April 2007 (Sunday)
- Afternoon: Shushu continue vomiting, tempt him to eat with watery chicken porridge but he vomit after eating it. Now shushu even refused to drink water. Rushed him to the vet. Vet observed shushu condition is much more weakened, he has become very meek and passive. Suspect shushu is poisoned. Vet gave him an injection for general poison. Shushu is then placed under IV drips and has to stay in the clinic for the night. shushu is really weakened as he did not object anymore to the injection nor being put inside a crate. Vet weighted him and notice he drop about 3kg.

23rd April 2007 (Monday)
- Afternoon: visited shushu at lunch time, noticed he look very sad and depressed, totally unlike himself. Hardly recognise me even when I am next to him. Vet assistant gave him some water and he immediately puke after drinking it. Vet then suspect there is a foreign object in him hence the blockage (unable to keep the food and water in). She did an ultrasound on this belly but couldn't find anything significant enough. The vet then asked me whether I want to do a blood test on him and I agreed. The vet took 3 tube of bloods from him and send to the lab. She told me she will get the result by the evening.
- Evening: Blood test out and nothing out of ordinary except for blood cells count. low white blood, red blood as well as platelet count. Vet said a few possibility - he was under drug to suppress his blood production or he has bone marrow suppression (his marrow is not good enough to generate enough blood cell). Vet ruled out drug as he is not under any medication except the gluosamine supplement and vit C. Vet proposed a X-ray examination tomorrow morning at another clinic (not available in her facilities) for further checks.

24th April 2007 (Tuesday)
- Morning: Went early in the morning with brother to look at shushu and to take him for X-ray and got a good news from vet. She said she faxed the blood test yesterday night to a lecturer in UPM and consulted him on the case and there is a possibility of blood parasite. Hence, she did a blood second test on shushu on it and found out that shushu did have sparse blood parasite. Gave shushu 2 more injections on the blood parasite, yesterday night and this morning. Suspect that the blood parasite are transmitted by ticks, (ticks fever). Shushu did look more active today and we stayed with him until lunch time. Vet asistant gave him some liquid food and he started eating a little after some coaxing. No vomit so far. Vet said shushu condition look much more better and if nothing goes wrong he will be able to leave by tomorrow. Shushu's IV drips is then taken off.
- Evening: went to vet again to visit shushu. He looks way better, and started barking at other dogs too =_=. Vet assistant feed him boiled chicken and he ate it all. When I wanted to go back home, he keep barking at me nonstop so the vet took a pity on him and allowed him to go home that day instead of tomorrow. She told me no excitement for him for 2 weeks - ie. no training, etc. Took shushu home and camped at the living room with him at night.

25th April 2007 - 27th April 2007
Kept shushu at home. Feed him boiled chicken and some Innova Evo can food - all in small portion and constantly to avoid his stomach upset. No evening walks as scared he might get some virus from outside since his immune system is very low. Eventhough so, he manage to catch a bad cough on friday, expecially at night.

28th April 2007 (Saturday)
Took him to the vet again for check up. Vet said his lungs is clear, but has a lot of phelgm at the throat. She gave him some antibiotic and medicine for his cough. Other that day, vet pronounced him fit and healthy. I also bought him a flea collar to further protect him from anymore ticks attack. He is already under frontline but just to be safe.

It was very lucky that Shushu managed to survive the incident. Medical bills was sky high (blood test, drips, injections, ultrasound) but nothing can be compared with the fact that he is still alive today. It just happened one day without warning or sign. Even though it happened so fast, just within one week - but lots of care, patience and time (sleepless night) was spent to get shushu back to his feet again. Shushu has regain his appetite but his immune system is still low so we have to be vigilant. This incident taught me to appreciate more on life and never to take things for granted.

Last sunday, I finally took him to his training after his 2 weeks curfew, well not much training but more for socialisation. Shushu has conveniently "forgotten" all his training and has to start all over again - probably from much spoilling from me. There I got the news from another GR owner that one of the training GR, who was about 2.5 years old has succumbed to a virus attack recently. The GR was vomited blood and there was nothing the vet can do to save it. I felt the lady owner's grief and was thankful mine survived.

By: shushu's owner

Boils on legs

Not yet recovering from one health problem, the second problem pop up last saturday.
However, this is mainly the OWNER'S FAULT.

The owner decided to bring shushu to grooming last saturday. There was quite a bit of knots on shushu's stomach and it has caused shushu quite an itch. His ears also need some cleaning. Since he broke part of the grooming equipment on his last visit to his usual groomer, the owner decided to try another groomer nearby and brought shushu to it around 1pm. The new place was one of the shoplots and the area was quite populated (especially near lunch hour) and being a large dog (puppy), shushu might scared some of them if we were walking at the pavement. So, the owner foolishly let shushu walk on the tar road on a hot weather thinking that for such short distance (3 shophouses from where the owner park her car), there is no harm. However, the road scorched his paws and cause some boils. Poor shushu was in pain but did't cried out. After back from groomer, shushu was unsually quiet and slept the whole afternoon thru. He keep licking his paws.

On sunday morning, shushu was in pain and was limping when he is walking. The owner was in panic and didn't realise what is the problem. After the visit to the vet only we realise the cause. The vet said it will take more than one week to recover and that not to let shushu walk a lot cause it will be painful for him. Of course, the owner get reprimand by the vet for letting shushu walk under the hot sun.

The owner would like to said "very SORRY" to shushu for causing him so much uncomfortable condition. Shu will miss his training and all his daily walk until he recovers.

And for others doggy owner out there, please don't your beloved doggy walk on the tar road under the hot sun. This owner learn it the hard way and her dog has to suffer!

Hips dysplasia (HD)

We noted one of shushu's hind leg is quite weak so last tuesday, I brought him to the vet for a checkup.

Vet says that shushu may have a posibility of HD as one of the hind leg is injured (he twisted it). He prescribed some supplement for shushu to take, which is glucosamine to help faster healing. However, the medication will need to be taken constantly for some time - at least 2 months for it to take effect. Vet also said not to let shushu jump alot, as it will put more pressure on his joints. This is quite hard to do considering he likes to jump on people as a form of greeting and when he is happy. We know that this is one of the bad behaviour and will do our best to control him.

I really hope he can get well soon.

What is HD actually? HD mainly affects large breed dogs such as GSD, Labrador, Golden, Rottweiler, Great Dane and St. Bernard. It affects the joints of the legs and can be inhereted from its parents.

For more details and reading, please refer to the following site:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1569&articleid=444
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_dysplasia

shu's 3rd vacination

Yesterday we brought shu to his vet for his 3rd vacination. He was very naughty there, running around and trying to chew the plant in the clinic.

His vet help to clean his ear, which is quite clean - just a little bit of wax near the ear canal, and gave him his worm tablet. When come to his vacination time, normally before the vet stick the needle into him, he will start struggling and whimper. However, yesterday he didn't even make a sound! What a brave boy. I did make a comment to his vet that he is getting braver but his vet reply probably he didn't feel it so much as compared to his 2nd injection because his skin has grown thicker! ><

The vet also check his weight - which is ok, but can still feed him a little bit more - haha, shu must be very happy getting this news as he is a eating machine.

His eyes were also checked as they were sightly reddish - and the vet gave him some eyes drop for treatment. The vet said maybe some infection as he likes to sniff around and eat stuff and something may have got into his eyes - nothing serious.

I also bought some heart worm tablet from the vet. The advise was either to start now or wait until he is 6 months. I decided to start early.

When we reached home, he is still very playful and active. I was quite surprise as when he took his second injection he just come back and slept the whole afternoon away. However, when approaching evening, we can see that he started not feeling well, he keep trying to chew stuff, getting a bit aggressive and moody. He dislike it when we put him inside the playpen (barking non stop which he usually don't) and stick to us like glue.

In the end, I have to put him inside his crate and let him alone so he can sleep. Luckily, this morning he is feeling much more better and has revert back to his usual self.

sick!!!

Shu got very sick on 29 November 2006. He usually finish all his food within 5 minutes n can still give u the expression "ask for more" but yesterday morning he pick at his food n didn't eat at all. Since he was not that energetic as usual, I decided to leave him inside my room instead of putting him in his crate before I leave for work.

When I got home at lunch time, I discover shu laying at his cushion and there was a huge pile of vomit on the cushion as well! I carry him to the porch for him to relieve himself and he diarhea. He vomit 3 more times and didn't want to take any water or his lunch. I quickly rush him to the vet and got some medication for him.

The vet gave him some antibotic and vomit/diarhea medication. He also told me not to let him run around (which will upset his stomach more) and put him inside his crate instead, and only to give him water and food (half of the ration) at night. He said there is 2 possibility - 1) he swallow something which did not agree with his stomach (he really like to pick up everything and tried to swallow them =_=); or 2) he may be infected with parvovirus! (shock). I got to observe him to 2 more days and if at any time he vomit / diarhea and there is blood in them, this will confirm that he has the virus and has to be admitted....poor shu. He only finish 2 vacination so far and his last one is due on 18 Dec 2006.